Blue Hose rally to 107-87 win over Johnson

A 13-0 run by the Blue Hose erased a one-point deficit and helped the Presbyterian College men’s basketball team pull away from Johnson and earn the 107-87 win in action Saturday evening at the Templeton Center in Clinton, S.C.

Scoring the Game

PC went up early in the first half, taking a 14-9 lead off a JC Younger three-pointer. The Blue Hose extended the lead to 21-15 off back to back Francois Lewis free throws, but a 5-0 run by Johnson, which included a Taylor Cresswell three-pointer, to cut the margin to one, 20-21. Five unanswered helped the Blue Hose go back up by five, 23-28 but back to back three-pointers by the Royals gave the visitors their first lead of the game at 29-28.

After a back and forth battle, the Royals took a three-point lead after another duo of three-pointers, 39-36, 3:35 on the clock. Trailing by three, 38-41, PC went on a 6-0 run to retake the 44-41 lead with 2:07 to go in the half. Both teams traded baskets the final two minutes with a Davon Bell layup giving the Blue Hose the 49-45 lead at the break.

After a Johnson three-pointer to open the second half cut the PC lead to one, the Blue Hose rattled off seven unanswered to take the eight-point 56-48 lead. Over the next six minutes the Royals clawed their way back, taking a two-point lead, 67-69 at 11:17, off a Taylor Gilpin three-pointer.

Trailing by one, 75-76, with 8:11 to go, the PC offense took off as the Blue Hose scored 13 straight to take a 12-point lead, 88-76, 4:26 left. Johnson cut it to 10 at 88-78 but that was as close as the team would get with PC limiting Johnson to just nine points the remainder of the game, coming away with the 107-87 win.

Player of the Game

Reggie Dillard led the Blue Hose with 25 points off a 10-of-14 effort from the field. Francois Lewis pulled down a team-leading and career-high nine boards to add to his 19 career-high points. Davon Bell added a career-best 22 points, with JC Younger finishing with a career-best nine boards as well. Taylor Gilpin led Johnson with 32 points, including five three-pointers.

Stat of the Game

PC shot 55.9% from the field, compared to 49.2% for Johnson. The Royals hit 11 three-pointers, to PC’s seven, with the Blue Hose connecting on 24-of-38 free-throws. Johnson collected 18-of-20 from the charity stripe. PC forced 16 Johnson turnovers, recording just eight on the night, scoring 23 points off the turnovers. The Blue Hose held the rebound advantage, 40-26, including a 14-4 advantage on the offensive boards. PC scored 17 second chance points.

Notables

Davon Bell’s career-high five steals tied the PC Division I record.

The team’s 38 free throw attempts tied for second in the PC DI record book.

The 107 points tied for third in the PC DI record book, while the 38 field goals made tied for fourth.

Davon Bell scored a career-high 22 points, his second game in a row with a career-best. He was also a best nine-of-16 from the field.